Save the Ducklings

What's happening in the Arctic is changing Boston

Caroline Cai

A City By the Sea

Once upon a time, there was a lovely city by the sea with museums and an aquarium for endless fun, a magical carousel by the harbor, and a beloved baseball park. And best of all: a parade of ducklings at the public garden.

People loved living in the city so much that they didn't slow down to notice the ocean was rising, the storms bigger, the winters warmer, and heat waves longer. This is because the earth's air conditioning in the arctic is breaking!

What's happening in the Arctic?

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Earth's Air Conditioner

The sea ice in the Arctic is bright white. It acts as an air conditioner for the Earth because it reflects the sun and cools the planet. But this air conditioner is breaking. Climate change is warming the planet and melting the ice to show the dark blue ocean underneath. The dark blue ocean absorbs the sunlight, warming the water.

Did you know?

Warmer water is bigger than colder water. Even just a few degrees warmer makes a huge difference in the height of the ocean.

Disappearing Glaciers

The earth is dotted with giant ice sheets called glaciers, where tons of water has been frozen for thousands of years. But as the planet warms, the glaciers, like the sea ice, are melting too. As they melt, glacier water flows down to the oceans in rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, tributaries, and runnels. Water really likes to run downhill!

Way up north...

“...where reindeer live, the ground can stay frozen all year. It's permanently frozen: permafrost! But these days the warming planet is thawing the permafrost too. This is bad news because frozen in the permafrost is over a trillion tons of carbon dioxide, a gas that will make our planet even warmer through a process called the greenhouse effect. In this effect the gas acts like a blanket in the atmosphere on top of the Earth

A trillion tons is a lot

If you stood elephants shoulder to shoulder, long nose to small tail, a trillion tons of elephants would fill the entire western United States.

Oh no, our homes!

The oceans are filling up from all the melting glaciers and warming water. People all over the world have built cities right next to the oceans. As the oceans fill up and rise, those cities are flooding. Cities like Boston! What happens in Boston if the oceans rise 8 feet - the current estimate over the next 80 years?

A City Underwater

Public Garden

The Children's Museum

The Aquarium

Fenway Park

Harvard

The Greenway Carousel

Public Garden

The Children's Museum

A 40 foot milk bottle where kids (and their parents) can enjoy an ice cream after exploring the children's museum will look like a message in giant bottle floating alone in the growing Boston Harbor.

The Aquarium

The fish will return to the sea as the aquarium greatly expands to include the entire Atlantic Ocean

Fenway Park

Harvard

The Greenway Carousel

What Can Kids Do?

What can you do to save the ducklings and Boston? Plenty!

  • Teach others about climate change
  • Ask your local leaders to help stop climate change
  • Turn off lights when you leave a room
  • Walk instead of drive
  • Plant a tree
  • Share your ideas on how we can save the ducklings!

What happens in the Arctic doesn't really matter, right?

Caroline Cai

Maddie Cai-Mauricio

Kaili Mauricio

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